Exile

The sadness of an exiled man,
Consigned to his fate in a jail with no walls,
Knowing that he might, he could, and he can,
If not for a myriad of his own flaws.
Freedom all around him, but no one will look,
For eons have stolen his flair,
And placed him inside an invisible nook,
With space only for one, but no longer a pair.
He looks upon greatness, of men and their deeds,
Lighting passions thought dead long ago,
But now he must wait and repel all his needs,
Whilst the passage of time is unbearably slow.
The cruelty of seeing the days passing by,
Stretches the depths of his soul,
He’s beyond stages of watery eye,
When there’s only a faraway, ethereal goal.
He dare not believe that there is a solution,
To this rigid road that he treads every day,
That tests every fibre of his constitution,
And slashes his heart in a horrible way.
He cannot choose when this chapter will cease,
And a warmth might return to his heart,
Frightened to wish for the slightest of peace,
The smallest, most tremulous start.

The Rose Garden

The plot was brown with dusty earth,
Ragged and edged by weeds,
Yet in her mind there was the birth,
Of a delicate silken seed.

This place was new but once she brushed,
And scraped, and pulled, and cleared,
She quietened her day, and hushed,
And an image then appeared.

There were borders raised and made of wood,
And filled with a deep loam,
That worms and bugs and others could,
Regard as their new home.

And walking down the paths of gravel,
That criss-crossed in between,
The plan became unravelled,
As her mind painted the scene.

Bathed in gentle summers light,
Staked tall, looking well fed,
So many colours, yellow and white,
But dominated by deep red.

For now this is her fantasy,
But I know she'll find a way,
To realise what her mind can see,
And she'll make it real one day.


Composed 2012

Folly

1879

Unlaagered, spread-out, blind and hot,
In good spirits though, until slowly,
Realisation dawned that the black line,
Of assegai's lining the hills,
Would spell the end for those in red,
Who then, disembowelled through respect,
Would rest forever under white stones.

1914

A hole in the ground, filled with men,
Going nowhere, but lobbing shells,
And bullets and gas toward their foe,
Because nobody knew how,
To advance against machine guns.
So out of ideas, the orders came,
To march, slowly, ignoring things,
Like barbed wire or death,
Or that trenches don't move.

1939

Planes wheeled thought the air, ships sunk,
Trains exploded, tanks brewed up,
And men fought over the world.
But children starved, mothers cruelly stripped,
Of families; a teenage girl executed.
Because someone had an idea,
And convinced others, that atrocity,
Led towards something great,
As long as your eyes looked away.

1955

Twenty years of proxy war,
Preventing the spread of equality,
Where some are more equal than others,
In a jungle racked with fire,
A strategy of attrition was sold,
But without trenches this time,
Only to be shown as a fallacy,
Grasped at by those in command,
And exploded as a myth,
By an offensive called Tet,
Where more died in order that,
Nothing would change.

2003

Weapons of Mass Destruction,
They must be around here somewhere,
But never mind, we can say,
What people know; that Saddam is a Bad Man,
So we will treat him as he would treat others,
And yip with sensationalist delight,
When we finally find and hang him.
No worries for the long term stability,
Of this place or its people,
Or of the death and anguish caused,
On both sides, because now things are better,
If you like destruction and marketplaces,
That hide bombs and insurgency.

The Love Of Tech At Francis Manor

Not long after the hour of midnight, Miss Felicity Bonnington was led through the door of Francis Manor by the squire of the estate, James Headingly. The night had been stoked with barely concealed fiery passions, which during the course of dinner and dancing had smouldered in the eyes of the soon to be lovers.

Now, as James fastened the deadbolts on the door, Felicity took in the well appointed entrance hall and wondered if tonight would be the night when this classical courtship would bear corpulent fruit.

She gasped as James turned to sweep her into his arms, smiling and looking deep into her eyes. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she observed how a bluish light played over her partners face, and the sheer beauty of the moment caused a tear to run down one cheek.

'Why Felicity,' said James, his tone gentle but concern lining his face. 'What on earth is wrong?'

The young girl smiled shyly as she wiped the tear away.

'Oh do not mind my emotional ways James. It is merely the glow from the light of your BT HomeHub 5 did catch your features in a most pleasing fashion.'

'Well thank goodness this reaction was one bought on by the beauty of the situation, and not of some remorse,' James paused and grinned playfully. 'You know, my broadband speed can occasionally reach 77 megabits per second.'

'Why James!' exclaimed Felicity, blushing and pushing James away by one shoulder. 'Such talk is not suitable for the ears of a lady of good standing!' She giggled despite herself. 'If you talk of your asymmetric upload speed then I will be forced to revise my entire view of you as an upstanding gentleman.'

James laughed. 'As you wish my good lady, it shall not be mentioned. I am sure though that a woman even of your innocence must have some idea of the proportions ascribed in the ratio between upload and download speeds. Let me assure you that my assets in this regard are considerable.'

The girl blushed again, and quickly turned and looked at the rest of the hallway, as if moving away from the object of discussion would lessen her exposure to such colourful language.

'Show me the rest of your delightful abode,' she said, as if the preceding sentences had never been uttered.

James merely nodded and opened a large pair of double doors, leading to a room of rich, dark woods and plush furnishing. He gently led Felicity to a chais lounge and invited her to sit whilst he made drinks. It was as he was walking to the drinks cabinet that Felicity's eyes came to rest on a large black object mounted on the far wall.

'I say James,' she said, a tone of puzzlement in her voice. 'My eyes surely deceive me but I cannot help but think that looks remarkably like a Sharp AQUOS LED TV.'

James turned from preparing the drinks. 'Your eyes are indeed sharp, fair lady, pardon my own pun. It is the latest iteration of design, complete with NET+ Smart platform and with built in Freeview HD.'

'But that is not possible!' exclaimed the shocked woman. 'My father frequented Curries not 24 hours prior to this moment and it was stated that stock had not yet arrived from the Far East!'

James nodded sagely. 'It is true that the local merchants have been less than prompt in securing these models. I have had to resort to trading online to bring in this particular 60 inch example.'

'60 inches!' Felicity gasped. 'Excuse my raised voice but I have never seen one so large at such close quarters! When fully turned on it must be a quite magnificent sight to behold!'

'It is true that even I do not not have full control of it's functions as yet,' admitted James, somewhat sheepishly. 'It can do many astounding things that I am positive will ensure future guests experience many hours of pleasure.'

Felicity stood and made her way to the balcony at the end of the room, clutching her glass and sipping thoughtfully.

'Oh James, you have a wonderful place here. The grounds are magnificent, and so well manicured. But living alone as you do in such a location, are you not worried about intruders or poachers on your land?'

'You make a fair point, my dear, and it is to your womanly credit to think of such practical difficulties. Of course during the day Groundsman McArthur and his Alsatian guard the area, but at night a network of Lilin LR7022E4 IP Camera's record movements around the estate.'

'The Linin LR7022E4?' queried Felicity. 'I would have thought that a man of your standing would have chosen a model such as the Swann DVR4-1260 for multi-channel video surveillance.'

'I considered the Swann, of course,' answered James. 'But the Linin model offers 1080p resolution at a surprisingly low price. Since father tightened the purse-strings one cannot be too careful in ensuring one has the best deals possible.'

Upon uttering this unarguable explanation of price/performance ratio, James turned to his future wife and recognised the look in her eyes as that of admiration and longing. Taking her by the hand, he led her back into the hallway, and up the grand curving staircase towards the master bedroom, pausing briefly to notice the good lady inadvertently bite her bottom lip at the sight of the aforementioned HomeHub.

On the landing James pushed open the bedroom door, but Felicity paused, looking at an occasional table on the corner of which rested a small phone handset.

'Once again James, the elegance of your choice does you great credit.'

James paused and smiled. 'Yes, the Panasonic TG8063 DECT is a cordless phone answering system with caller ID/call waiting. It's really rather pleasant.'

'James, you arouse strange, warm feelings in me with such talk. Your BT master socket must be capable of such throughput. I cannot begin to imagine the skill with which you must handle all your equipment!'

'What is more,' enthused James, caught up in the moment. 'I purchased the triple-pack with two additional handsets so that three people could interact together on the same call, listening to what each other has to say as well as the voice of the external caller.'

Felicity's eyes hardened. 'A three-way interaction? Well, James! I have never before heard of such depravity. And to involve an innocent from the outside too! This is too much!'

'But it was all so easy to set up!' blurted James, suddenly rocked by this unexpected faux pas. 'It is surely as easy to flick a couple of additional switches for the sake of a better user experience, don't you see?'

The frown remained on Felicity's face. 'I shall find the spare bedroom tonight James. In the morning you can escort me back to my family. There is much to consider between us.'

With that, Felicity gathered herself and marched away, leaving James standing shocked beside his inactive handset. He sighed, and leant resignedly against the wall, and uttered under his breath;

'I knew I should have stuck with the twin pack.'

How A Weasel Hunts

A furry sausage,
Out of control,
Body elongated,
Like a stretched vole,
Bouncing around,
Like a slinky on acid,
Whilst sitting transfixed,
Is a rabbit so placid.
The rabbit moves not,
Is frozen, entranced,
By this mockery of,
An extreme belly dance.
It merely sits there,
Suspects nothing is wrong,
It just can't comprehend,
What the hell's going on.
The weasel meanwhile,
Is cute as can be,
As it bounds back and forth,
For the world to see,
Flipping and turning,
It jinks though the air,
Like a slightly unhinged,
(But still good) Fred Astaire.
Within inches it bounds,
In a flash, there's a bite,
A struggle so brief,
Hello rabbit, goodnight.

The Pavilion

I remember it well,
That old pavilion,
Decayed and crumbling,
White splinters on young skin.
Whilst men outside,
Played sport,
My personal race,
Was one of endurance.
It still haunts me,
The wooden feeling,
Of wooden buildings,
The stroke of bat on ball.
Although now long gone,
Torn out of existence,
The memory remains,
Inside my tired mind.
A distant itch,
That never leaves,
And cannot be coaxed away,
Because what remains,
A hole,
Cannot be landscaped,
And you cannot bury,
Something that is not there.

Assassin's Need

A unique set of skills, thats why they employ me,
And why my accomplice is close by my side,
She says that I'm gentle but won't suffer fools,
Whatever; the truth is she's loving the ride.
If you can spot a Great Tit from a third floor window,
Despite the fact that fucker's many miles away,
Then your eyesight don't need any kind of laser correction,
No matter what the geeks who work at Specsavers say.
So I'm sighting out this target, more than one thousand yards,
And my partner's telling me it is a miracle shot,
As she's trying to whisper to me in her high girly voice,
She's bought on an erection cos she sounds kinda hot.
There's the jack-a-roo guy standing behind the window,
Whilst mustachioed dude smokes a cuban cigar,
My partner whisper's 'Who's he?' and I tell her I don't know,
This job feels proper fucked up and a little bizarre.
My breath is held in and I'm still for a moment,
And even Miss Whisper has managed to hush,
Two shots fail to ring out because they've been silenced,
Two flowers of red bloom on carpets so plush.
My partner, she giggles as I stow my piece,
And we stroll away arms intertwined,
Living like this must be tough, many wonder,
But my partner and I, we enjoy the hard grind.

Voyage Of Discovery

When I started my journey on this gleaming ship,
I was only looking within,
I greeted the voyage with such reverie,
And felt joyousness shine through my skin!

Then I glanced at the others; they looked so sad!
Like their soul had been swept overboard,
Dragging the gaiety out of their minds,
Leaving smiles as something they could not afford.

So I took the stage with a pendulous bow,
Whilst the rest meekly shuffled their feet,
And as I looked over the dancing array,
I saw their closed minds like the flags of defeat.

I felt like the only one on this boat,
Who wasn't infectiously glum,
I wanted to radiate happiness!
I wanted to have some damn fun!

To be bright, and talented, but carefree,
To dance round the deck on a breeze,
Impervious to anxiety,
To embrace and enjoy the high seas!

I knew that many would shadow me,
And I'd draw the concern of the crew,
But I was the queen of the moment,
And those others were lost from my view.

But the limpits in life, though terribly dull,
Still attempted to hang on my tales,
They were just coasting along with my flow,
I was one higher life form, adrift by myself.

I wished for a time out, so I could gaze back,
Viewing tape that may have been recorded,
To see if this lady in a daring dress,
Caught eyes weeks ago at the time that she boarded.

But no playback exists, and I hear the slap,
Of a wave crashing against the hull,
And I sigh and I dream, of hope upon hope,
So that I might be borne aloft like a gull.

I imagine a time that I might come to know,
A person of substance and style,
A bit crazy maybe, and a spark in their eye,
And willing to sail far away from denial.

A Lie In The Woods

An island in amongst the trees,
Remains unruffled by the breeze,
As forest creatures shuffle by,

Not one catches anothers eye,
For fear is rife amongst the woods,
Where open hearts are damaged goods,
And thoughts and feelings given wings,
Are not pleasant or spoken things.
Life turns against the path of time,
And seeks to coat the trunks in grime,
So that the bark cannot be touched,
And branches withered, tightly clutched,
Won't rally round at plaintive cries,
That burn brightly from lustful eyes,
Kept bound up safe and free of fear,
Or so it seems when not so near.
A glance inside reveals the truth,
The rot beneath the woodland roof,
Caused by the worship of a lie,
That curses all to slowly die.

Borderlands

Bright skies of black and white are whipped,

By winds that gust and never cease,

Shadows stalk across the fields,

The heads of wheat are not at peace.

Flat land stretches featureless,

Out to where the earth may end,

No heights to see what may approach,

No fortress to defend.

The only break in this bleak land,

Is a windmill old and battered,

With sails long since torn away,

And glassless windows shattered.

By the door there sits a man,

Face weathered by long days,

Who surveys all the land around,

With a tired, steady gaze.

He expects an altercation,

Out here on this stricken land,

Far away from anywhere,

He's prepared to make a stand.

It's his belief that come the night,

That evil will appear,

He can't express its shape or form,

Or hide his naked fear.

A candle is his only tool,

To keep the night at bay,

And as the twilight settles in,

He hopes for one more day.

Composed 25/07/2013